The Helpful Dragon
by frivolous-vixen
Summary: Seregil and Alec are sent to frigid mountains to seek information -on an artifact they've burgled from a noble- from a tribe of people that may know of it's origins. Nightrunner oneshot; Contest entry for MegzWills contest on dA using her OC's.


Disclaimer: The Nightrunner series and it's characters (c) Lynn Flewelling. (We just play with them~ ;)) The characters Witchcraft, Gunnar, Bjork, Augustina, Megan, Ingrid, and Annora (c) MegzWills from deviantART.

A/N: Woopwoop! Another Nightrunner story but this one just so happens to be a contest entry I did for MegzWills contest on dA! :D I got her permission to post the story here to my fanfiction account as well as my dA account. Thank you! *huggle* I think this story is really good and I loved the character interactions~ So here you guys go, new story to read! *confetti*

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A sharp, cold wind howled out over the tall mountains that loomed over the valley Seregil and Alec had found themselves in. It was a biting cold wind, and even with their thick layers of clothing and heavy cloaks wrapped around them it bit them to their bones. For Alec, he was at home in these foreign lands; the hunt, the cold, freezing snow, the blinding whiteness that surrounded them.

For Seregil, however, he was so far from home he didn't think he'd ever see the streets of Rhíminee again. The beautiful Street of Lights and the warm fires that burned within the finest of brothels and gambling halls, the warmth of the Oreska House and it's constant, perfect weather that surrounded it's grounds.

"_Bilairy's Balls_, I'm going to freeze to death before we find this forsaken tribe!" He cursed and rubbed his hands together roughly. The thick leather gloves he wore did little to keep his fingers from freezing. "I'll never be able to pickpocket again at this rate!" He let out a strangled cry of frustration.

From beside him, the blonde northern bred male chuckled, puffs of white clouds coming from him with each breath. "It's not that bad. A little colder than back north. It's no worse than the Downs, though. Living in Skala really has thinned your blood." He mused, a wry smile crossing his fine features.

Even with the freezing wind and the knee-deep snow around them, Seregil couldn't help but smile crookedly at his talímenios; he always made things better.

Before he had the chance in retorting him, his footing slipped out from under him. Grey eyes widening, he grasped at anything that could support him as the earth fell away. The snow crumbled however and Alec fell down the same break in snow. "Alec!" Seregil reached for the younger man but his reach wasn't far enough and the male disappeared down the newly developed slope.

Cursing, he scrambled to stay above but the snow gave to his weight and he began sliding down the same path Alec had fallen.

When he landed several feet down, he first registered the feeling of something sharp pressing against his ribs. The next thing he registered was the muffled groan of Alec. "Alec?" He moved away from where he'd landed to find the blonde under him, -the sharp point he felt having been Alec's bow pressing against his ribs.

"Did you have to land on me?" The blonde muttered, spitting out snow. He cracked his neck then twisted to check on his bow and quiver; they were both in good condition still. "Thank Illior they're not broken!" He sighed with relief.

Seregil snorted while he dusted himself off of snow. "Thank you talí, for your great concern over my well being. I'm glad to know where I am when compared to your bow. I seem to recall I bought you that Black Radly." He scoffed at the male.

Rolling his eyes, Alec stood from where he'd landed and followed Seregil's motions with dusting himself off. "You're being ridiculous. You'll always come before my bow, talí." He looked up, a sly smile on his face. "I just knew you were fine. If I didn't break anything than neither would you." He looked up, eyeing the small cliff they'd fallen off of dubiously.

"Looks like it just dropped down. It was probably all snow anyway." He looked around, seeing that they really hadn't deviated from the path they'd been walking. "But that doesn't change the fact we don't know where we are." He rubbed his neck and waded through the snow to get to Seregil's side.

"We are not lost! We're just turned around. Illior's Fingers, it's all this snow. Everything looks the same!" He threw his hands up but froze, his grey eyes finding something that by far was not like the miles of snow that surrounded him. "Alec. Don't. Move."

"What?" The blonde raised a thin eyebrow at Seregil's sudden mood swing and wondered what he was concerned over. He didn't sense any danger and there wasn't anything to see for miles, like Seregil had so nicely stated.

But what Alec could not see was that behind him, a rather large, yellow eye was staring at the two of them. The snow shifted as the eye and whatever head it was attached to moved, the snow falling away to reveal deep blue scales. To Seregil's surprise, the eye belonged to a dragon.

"A dragon!" He gasped, eyes wide with disbelief. Alec spun around to see the dragon just as it stood to it's full height. It was obviously younger than some of the dragons from Aurënen but still an incredible sight to behold; even to Seregil. "I've never seen a dragon so far from Aurënen! Friend, what are you doing here?" He called.

Alec studied the dragon, it's beautiful blue scales, it's large wings that spread far over them before folding in on it's back. White fur like hair hung from it's chin and ran down it's back, and it's horns were brown and looked like dead trees atop it's head with their great size. Even after seeing the dragons in Aurënen, Alec could never get used to the sight of such magnificent creatures.

"It's been a long time since I've seen your kind, Child of the Light. And a Child of Light and Earth." His head lowered enough to level his eye with Seregil and Alec. "Welcome to my home away from home. I protect these lands and it's people. You are far from home as I am."

"And we're lost." Alec added solemnly.

"We're not lost." Seregil argued, shaking his head at his talímenios. He looked to the dragon with a crooked grin, though. "But we could use a little help in direction. Could you direct us to the nearest village?" Seregil crossed his arms and stared at the dragon. He would never get tired of the sight of the creatures from his homeland.

The dragon lifted his head as he stood on his hind legs then, towering over Seregil and Alec like a mountain. "A storm is coming." Narrowing his yellow eyes at the two men, the dragon lowered to their level again. "You won't make it to the closest village before the storm. I will take you there, the people of the village are a good people. They will surely offer you shelter."

Alec stood in awe at the prospect of riding on a dragon, disbelieving that it was really going to allow them on it, but indeed it lowered it's shoulder to their levels to climb up. He looked to Seregil, wondering if it was truly okay. Smiling at the blonde, Seregil nodded and went ahead, pulling himself up onto the dragon's shoulder and climbing his way to it's back.

Alec followed him quickly and was soon sitting behind him on top of the dragon's back and clinging to the long white fur that lined it. "Hold on, my friends." Spreading his wings out, the dragon flapped them hard twice before it was off the ground. Alec and Seregil both clung to the long fur as the wind whipped at them.

"Don't have to tell us twice!" Seregil said, eyes wide in awe. He was definitely going to enjoy telling Micum and Thero about this once they've returned to Skala.

When the great blue dragon was in the air, it was both amazing and terrifying. The wind bit at them harder as the dragon flew over the white expanse of land below them. It was a slow glide, but Seregil was most definitely glad for the help. He seen now just how lost they'd managed to get.

Looking to the sky, Alec could see that there was indeed a storm coming from the north. "Thank you for helping us, friend!" Alec said over the roar of the wind and the flapping of the dragon's wings.

"It is no problem, young ones. I cannot sit idly when you are in need of help." The dragon spoke, his voice seemingly booming like thunder in the sky as he flew.

It only took a couple of moments before the dragon circled a small village and landed near it, allowing both Seregil and Alec to climb down from his back. "You should wait out the storm before traveling further." He suggested, watching as both men checked and fixed their packs.

"We will, thank you friend." Seregil turned and bowed in respect of the dragon. Alec did the same and offered a smile. "You've been a great help. I'm glad we stumbled onto you." Seregil mused. They probably wouldn't have even found the dragon had they not gotten lost and fell from the small cliff of snow.

As the dragon nodded and turned to leave, Seregil hummed. "Luck in the shadows, and in the light, my friend." He offered, a slight smile gracing his face.

Turning his head to look at them, the dragon considered the words for a moment then bowed his head. "To you as well." With that, he spread his wings out and flapped them before he took off the ground again just as he had earlier.

Seregil and Alec worked to stay on their feet from the gusts of wind made from him but were able to hold their ground and stood watching as the dragon began flying away from the village; most likely returning to his lair before the storm arrived.

Alec turned to Seregil with a wide smile on his face. "We just flew on a dragon, Seregil!" His bright blue eyes shined with awe, something Seregil would never get tired of seeing in the eyes of his talímenios.

Chuckling, the grey eyed male took hold of Alec's arm. "Just wait until we return so we can tell Micum and Thero." He said, tugging Alec toward the village.

"And Beka! She'll love to hear about this!" Alec added, grinning as he followed after Seregil. "We can tell her things too since she's a Watcher." He winked and Seregil laughed and nodded to that.

They were met by a burly, gruff looking man with a long, thick, blonde beard, and a much younger man with short brown hair and a short brown beard. "Hail!" The one with the blonde beard spoke while he took in Seregil and Alec's appearances. "When my son here saw Witchcraft flying toward us, I couldn't believe my ears! Yet there he was, circling our little old village and here you are, just where he landed. Can't be much of a coincidence, eh?"

"None at all good sir. He was kind enough to get us here before the storm." Seregil paused, then said, "Witchcraft?" He raised an eyebrow at the name the people used for the dragon.

"The dragon that guards these lands. That was him, the great blue creature. He's a good being, protects us." The younger one said with a slight smile of admiration for the dragon. "Witchcraft's been here for as long as I can remember." He held his hand out. "My name's Bjork. This is my father, Gunnar, the chief of this tribe."

"That's Gunnar the Great!" Gunnar laughed, slapping Bjork on the back. "If Witchcraft dropped you two off, you're certainly more than welcome in our village!" He said, motioning for the two to come with him. "Come, that storm is looking pretty bad from here and I'd not like to get stuck in the middle of it. My wife, Augustina, will cook us up something warm. You two look half frozen!" He led the way into the village.

Seregil and Alec both were more than grateful. "Thank you so much for your hospitality!" Seregil said, pleased to know that Witchcraft had inadvertently made them welcome guests in the village simply by helping them. The dragon had helped far more than he could ever know.

"What brings you so far out here? We never see travelers!" Bjork said in awe, looking between Seregil and Alec both. "You both don't look like anyone that's lived around here." He said with a wry smile.

"Oh, we just got a bit turned around. Once the storm passes I'm sure we'll be on our way, now that we've seen the area from a bird's eye view." Seregil mused. He had spotted a temple not far from where the village was that reminded him of the artifact that had led them to this corner of the earth to begin with.

"You must have been really turned around!" Gunnar laughed at Seregil, but in good humor.

When they were inside out of the frigid wind, they were greeted by the wonderful sight of a burning fire and the smell of warm food being cooked. "Augustina! We've got ourselves guests!" Gunnar announced while removing his cloak. Bjork, Seregil, and Alec did the same and placed their cloaks to the side. Seregil wasn't in any hurry to remove his coat while he placed his sword down, but Alec was just fine doing it and stretched his lean frame once it was off and his Black Radly and quiver sat next to Seregil's sword.

A woman with long brown hair framing her face and bright green eyes, looking to be the same age as Gunnar, stepped into the room with a smile on her face. "Guests? Welcome to our little corner of the world, then!" She smiled at Alec and Seregil both and motioned for them to relax. "We've got dinner ready. Please join us, you two must be starving. I'm Augustina by the way."

Looking over her shoulder, she smiled as three more entered the room. "These are my daughters, Megan, my oldest, Ingrid, and Annora my littlest." She smiled and motioned for them to meet the two. She moved and kissed Gunnar's cheek as the girls entered the room further. "And you've met my husband and my son Bjork." She said with the same affection for her husband and son as she had for her daughters.

"I'm Seregil and this is Alec." Seregil said, running a hand through his long dark hair to smooth it back out of his face. "A pleasure to meet you all. We can't thank you enough for the meal. Perhaps some money could begin?" He inquired, hoping they'd have a roof over their heads for the night with the offer.

Augustina waved her hand and chuckled. "We have no need for gold or silver here. Simply helping you is good enough. No one should be stuck out there in this weather." She motioned for them to follow her to the kitchen, where Seregil and Alec could smell the freshly cooked meal.

It wasn't Skalan food, but it smelt amazing nonetheless and they both welcomed it. Alec was more than eager to eat, it smelt better than most of what he ate growing up with his father. "Thank you so much ma'am!" Alec beamed, sitting down once a seat was offered to him.

Seregil could tell the youngest girls were a bit on the shy side but the oldest had a look that greatly reminded him of Beka. The whole family, really, reminded him of Micum's, something he could certainly live with for a day or two until the storm had a chance to pass. He chuckled inwardly and sat himself next to Alec as plates were sat around the table.

"You're both most welcome. We never get travelers, so seeing new faces is refreshing in lands like these." Augustina said, sitting herself down once everyone had full plates of food.

"You're awfully feminine looking for men in these parts." The oldest daughter -Megan- mused with a slight smirk. It was obvious that was most certainly true, just by seeing Gunnar and Bjork. These people were built for these lands. Even Alec, a born northerner back in the Three Lands, stood out among them due to his 'faie blood.

"Megan! Be nice, they're strangers to these lands." Augustina said, though her voice held no scolding tone. It was obvious she wasn't the strict type of mother. Gunnar grinned at the statement, he too had noticed Seregil and Alec's small build for men. It was obvious to anyone in these lands they were strangers.

Seregil held his hand up with a shake of his head. "It's quite fine, we're far from home and certainly look out of place. We're used to that." He offered her a smile.

Grinning ruefully at Seregil, Alec nodded in agreement. "Yeah, far from home and used to it for sure." He agreed as he began to eat. He looked at Megan and smiled. "But I am used to lands like these. He might not be." He nodded to Seregil. The two youngest girls looked at Seregil and the look upon his face made them both giggle, which made both Alec and Seregil exchange a smile.

Megan rolled her shoulder in a shrug, her eyes flicking toward Alec's Black Radly and Seregil's sword. "Well you certainly don't look like you could handle that bow." She smirked and began to eat her own meal. The wind outside had picked up, the sound harsh against the house walls and roof. But it stood strong while they ate safely inside.

Alec couldn't hide the wry smile that came on his face as he straightened himself up in his seat. "Well I'm not too bad with it." He said. He was proud of his skill with the bow but he wouldn't exactly say it aloud. It was always a little embarrassing.

"Oh please," Seregil clucked his tongue. "He's the best when it comes to bows. I haven't seen or met anyone in all my years better than Alec. He's just being modest. It's the Dalnan part of him I'm afraid." Seregil sighed almost dramatically with a wave of his hand. The blonde's face heated up but he shook his head quickly and rubbed his neck, a grin on his face.

Both Bjork and Megan perked up and looked to Alec, and both grinned. Before they even spoke, Alec knew exactly what was on their minds. It was the same thing that always happened when he met other hunters. "After this storm passes, we're going to see if you're that great." Megan challenged, a spark of excitement in her eyes. Something Alec had seen many times from people.

The storm wouldn't be able to pass fast enough for either Megan or Bjork now.

That was Seregil and Alec's thoughts concerning the storm as well, that it simply could not pass fast enough. However they had other things on their minds for after the storm passed; like a particular temple where answers concerning a certain artifact may very well be lying.

Witchcraft most certainly had helped them in the long run, in more ways than one. Neither Seregil nor Alec would ever forget this adventure or the blue dragon called Witchcraft that helped them along their way.

End.

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A/N: Well, there it was! :D I know it was short but I really liked it regardless if I win a spot or not. X3 So please let me know what you think by dropping a quick review! It only takes a moment before clicking out of the page!  
And remember! The characters Witchcraft, Gunnar, Bjork, Augustina, Megan, Ingrid, and Annora (c) MegzWills from deviantART!


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